The Rose Parade gay wedding

I’m sure many parade watchers had different reactions to the gay wedding ceremony at last week’s Rose Parade aboard the AIDS Healthcare Foundation float.

While we know that AIDS is not unique to the gay community, the Department of Health and Human Services released statistics in December 2013 that the most severely affected group by HIV is overwhelmingly among gay bisexual men.

The Health and Human Services report showed that this group accounts for nearly half of all people living with HIV in the United States.

In this same report from last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the rate of new HIV diagnoses among gay and bisexual men in the U.S. is more than 44 times that of other men.

Considering these facts, wouldn’t a celebration of the gay lifestyle aboard the AIDS Healthcare Foundation float be like everyone smoking on a parade float for the American Cancer Society?